Faces
by SerenBex
Summary: This is the last long Evie fic! Set during SitL/FotD... Hope you enjoy!
1. Stop Acting Like A Spoilt Child

**_Hello darlings :)_**

**_Disclaimer – I don't own Doctor Who or anything related to it (except a Doctor/Donna poster, the first five series on DVD, an Adipose cuddly toy called Barry, a Donna action figure, a toy TARDIS and the DSi Game). I definitely don't own any of the characters except Evie Song who IS mine. I wish I owned them though..._**

_**This story is set during '**Silence in the Library__**' and '**Forest of the Dead**'. Also, you don't have to have read **Evie's Diary**, but there might be mention of some of the stuff that happens in it in this. Also, if you haven't read any of the other parts of Evie's story it will probably be a little confusing!**_

_**So... this is the last long Evie fic. There might be a surprise in the works, but I'm not saying anything else about that at the moment! Also, **Evie's Diary** is on hold for a while until I get the chance to write more!**_

**_As usual, all speech that is directly from the episodes is in italics. I really hope you enjoy it!_**

**_Please leave me some reviews. You know how happy they make me! :D_**

**_Becki x_**

* * *

><p>"You can't leave me behind!" Evie whined, leaning over the back of the sofa as her mother bustled around the kitchen of their small house in Ledworth. Her grandmother, who had popped over to show River something in one of her magazines, tutted and rolled her eyes.<p>

"Evie Song!" She chastised her, not entirely seriously. "You're thirty-five years old, even if you look about twelve, so stop acting like a spoilt child!"

"Graaaannnn..."

"Evie, I said no and I meant it!" River snapped, licking butter off her finger as she balanced the knife back on top of the butter tub. "This is an important research expedition for the University. It's not a fun day out – it's serious!"

"You've taken me on your University expeditions before… like all the time!" Evie moaned, refusing to give up on this issue. "Ohhh! But I forgot… you're a Professor now… you're far too important to have a daughter."

"She really is like her father, isn't she?" Amy asked, smirking and perching on one of the high stools at the breakfast bar. Evie stuck out her tongue, earning herself a glare from both older women.

"Don't even try that with me, Evie." River snapped. "You're not coming and that is that."

Her daughter scowled, flopping down into a seated position on the sofa and folding her arms, sulkily.

x-x

"I cannot believe you talked me into letting you come." The archaeologist growled in her daughter's ear as they stood in the foyer of a large, lavishly furnished manor house. Evie grinned, but had no time to answer before a short, stocky man approached.

"Strackman Lux." He said, glancing at them, his eyes flicking over their space suits. "You must be Professor Song."

"Mr Lux." River said smoothly, holding out her hand to shake his. "How nice to meet you. This is Evie, one of my students from the Luna University. She'll be accompanying us on this expedition."

"Very well… you know Dave, our pilot?" Mr Lux continued, pointing to another stocky man in a white space suit.

He raised a hand in greeting as Mum nodded and smiled warmly at him. "We've worked together before."

"That there, is Anita our navigator. And Other Dave; our engineer."

The remarkably pretty, dark-haired young woman hovering at Mr Lux's side smiled at them. "They're nicknamed Proper Dave and Other Dave for differentiating purposes. Proper Dave was part of the Felman Lux Corporation Crew first, which is why he's called Proper Dave and Other Dave is Other Dave." She explained as though reciting something she'd learnt.

"Thank you, Miss Evangelista." The man said, sighing exasperatedly. "Miss Evangelista, my personal assistant."

He turned and muttered something in her ear. She stared blankly for a moment, before her mouth formed into a small 'o' of comprehension and she hurried away quickly. When she returned, moments later, she handed a couple of sheets of paper to her boss.

"Professor Song. You and your… assistant… need to sign these forms, please." Mr Lux said, holding out forms to the two women.

Glancing quickly at each other, River and Evie each arched an eyebrow before ripping the paper in half and handing them back to the man, smiling sweetly.

"We don't do contracts, Mr Lux." The archaeologist explained. "We'll take our own chances, thanks." He looked stunned, but before the man could say anything, River turned to the rest of their crew. "Now, Proper Dave, Other Dave, Anita? We've got a library to explore."

x-x

The journey was long and dull. River and Lux spent most of their time deep in discussions – Evie was more inclined to describe them as arguments – about the library, Anita and the Daves joked with each other and discussed their past expeditions. They were friendly enough and involved Evie when they remembered, but she spent most of her time with Miss Evangelista, whose first name Evie had discovered to be Cassie.

The girl, despite being incredibly pretty, was quite stupid. Evie, however, didn't hold this against her. Instead she was patient, feeling sorry for the young woman who was the victim a lot of mocking from the rest of the crew – especially when she mistook the escape pod for the bathroom, twice, and they had to go back and rescue her. Each time she did something ridiculous, Evie was there to comfort her and assure her that it was a mistake anyone could have made.

"But they didn't, did they? It's always me." Cassie sniffled, rubbing her streaming eyes as the two of them lay on Evie's bunk watching holovids.

Later on the evening of the second time she'd got left behind, just to make her new friend feel better, Evie had deliberately made the same mistake, causing the crew to have to go and rescue her. River, knowing exactly what her intention had been, just smiled and shot her daughter a wink. The others teased her mercilessly for the rest of the journey.

Finally they arrived at the Library. Even Evie, who generally had no interest in such places, was astonished by the building. In fact, it was a planet. It was a planet-sized library which had been silent for a hundred years and no one knew why. That was why they were there.

"Helmets on." River ordered as they stepped out of their ship.

Immediately complying, the seven of them waited for River to complete a basic analysis of the area before following her through the shadowy hallways. Evie had no idea where they were heading, but River and Lux seemed to so she followed contentedly. Beside her Cassie seemed nervous and Evie chatted away, trying to put her more at ease.

"There are so many books! Just look at them… it's like the walls are made of books." She babbled, pointing up at the massive of books on the shelves lining the walls. "I don't really read books. They tend to bore me after a couple of pages. I think the last book I read was an Enid Blyton one when I was a kid. It was something about a tree and a moon or something. My Dad gave it to me… a classic, apparently."

"D'you mean the Faraway Tree Series?" Mr Lux asked, calling over his shoulder.

Evie was slightly surprised, but nodded. "Yeah, that was it. Wasn't there a character called Mr Whatshisface?"

"Mr Watzisname." The man corrected her, without even turning around. "He sleeps a lot."

"I didn't know he was into children's fairy tales." Evie whispered to Cassie, grinning. "Although, I suppose it comes with the territory…" Raising her voice, she addressed the man again. "I don't suppose there's a spare copy of it around here… I dunno where mine is."

"This is a library, not a book shop." Mr Lux snapped. "Besides we've got more important things to think about."

"Sorry…" She muttered, rolling her eyes. Cassie giggled.

River rolled her eyes; her daughter knew she was doing it even through the visor of her helmet. "Girls, concentrate! Now… we're nearing the main chamber… Ohh! Next to the little shop… Typical! It would be next to the little shop."

"Typical?" Mr Lux snapped, more harshly than was necessary. "What's typical? And what would be next to the little shop?"

"I'm getting readings showing that there are other life forms here, in the Library. Two other life forms, to be exact." River told him, a slight smirk on her face. Evie wondered why she was getting the feeling that her mother knew more than she was letting on.

"Human?"

"Possibly… probably." The archaeologist said vaguely. "Only one way to find out."

She stood back as Other Dave pointed the Denon Blaster at the door in front of them. With a blindingly bright flash of light and a loud bang the door flew open. Wondering whether there had really been any need for such theatrics, Evie followed her mother into the room, closely followed by the others.

As they got closer to the two figures standing in the centre of the room watching them advance, Evie suddenly understood her mother's eagerness to get to this room. Standing beside her, she rolled her eyes as River pressed a button on her visor, removing the blackout and smirked at the man in front of her.

"_Hello, sweetie._"

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: I know Miss Evangelista had no first name - and it is perfectly plausible that Evangelista is her first name anyway - but I decided that she looked like a Cassie! :P**_


	2. I Don't Fancy You

"_Get out._" The Doctor told them bluntly, not a hint of recognition on his face as he stared at the woman in front of him. Evie assumed that it was the helmet because, as far as she could work out, since their slight hiccup with the timelines on the Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade the Doctor and Donna had already met them.

"_Doctor…_" Donna murmured, her faze puzzled as she gazed at the woman.

He ignored her soft exclamation. "_All of you… turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away._" He ordered, marching around theatrically. Evie smiled fondly, remembering what he was like as his tenth self. "_Tell your grandchildren you came to the Library and lived. They won't believe you._"

"_Pop your helmets everyone._" River commanded, completely ignoring his words. "_We've got breathers._"

"_How do you know they're not androids?_" Anita asked as Evie started removing her helmet. Following her new friend's lead, Cassie did the same.

River took off her helmet and shook her hair free. "_'Cos I've dated Androids… they're rubbish._"

Evie rolled her eyes as she completely removed her own helmet, tucking it securely under her arm and looking around.

"Amy!" Donna exclaimed in surprise, staring at the young brunette who met her eyes as she examined her surroundings. "And Doctor Song."

Evie glanced over her shoulder, before River nudged her and shot her daughter a meaningful look. Then Evie remembered that the first time Donna had met her, presumably very recently as far as the red-head was concerned, she'd told them that her name was Amy Jones.

"Oh!" The brunette said in a tone of realisation, causing both the Doctor and Donna to look at her questioningly. "Yeah… about that. My name's not Amy, it's Evie."

"Evie Jones?" Donna asked, raising her eyebrows. "Why did you say it was Amy then?"

"Can't be too careful, can you? I mean… you meet a couple of randomers on a strange planet; you're not going to give them your real name, are you? They could be anyone!" She babbled, shrugging.

"Right…" The Doctor murmured, his eyes flicking over her dispassionately.

"_Who is this?_" Mr Lux demanded, finally finding his voice after listening to the conversation with annoyance. "_You said we were the only expedition! I paid for exclusives._"

"_I lied. I'm always lying. Bound to be others._" River told him with a grim smile.

He was not impressed. "_Miss Evangelista? I want to see the contracts._"

Immediately Cassie leapt to attention, finding more of the papers Evie and River had been handed when they first met Mr Lux and the others.

"_You came through the North Door? How was that? Much damage?_" River asked, glancing at the Doctor.

He put his hands on his hips and glared at her. "_Please just leave. I'm asking you seriously and properly. Just lea– Hang on… did you say expedition?_"

"_My expedition._" Mr Lux told him. "_I funded it._"

"_Oh… you're not, are you?_" The Doctor groaned. "_Tell me you're not archaeologists._"

"_Got a problem with archaeologists?_"

"_I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists._"

"That's not what happened last time you met me, sweetie." River pointed out with a wink. "I seem to remember you being very interested in my expedition that time."

"Yes… and you ran off with the Lost Manuscript of Emperor Drax of Respilian without even letting me see it." He complained, almost sulkily.

"Maybe its archaeologists who should be pointing and laughing at you, then?" Evie told him with a cheeky smile.

River stuck her hand out in front of her. "But I should introduce myself properly. _Professor River Song, archaeologist._"

"_River Song, lovely name._" The Doctor said, shaking her outstretched hand. "_As you're leaving and you're leaving now, you need to set up a quarantine beacon; code-wall the planet. The whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again! Not one living thing; not here, not ever! STOP RIGHT THERE! What's your name?_"

Anita stopped abruptly. She'd been wandering off, away from the rest of the group. "_Anita._"

"_Anita… stay out of the shadows._" The Doctor ordered, propelling her backwards to the others. "_Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows 'til you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you; stay in the light! Find a nice bright spot and just stand. If you understand me look very, very scared._" Evie arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. Beside her, River was smiling in bemusement. "_No… a bit more scared than that._" Evie's other eyebrow rose to join the other. "_OK… do for now. You, who are you?_"

"I missed the dramatic, ranting Doctor." Evie muttered in barely audible tones in her mother's ear as Other Dave answered the Doctor. River smirked.

"_OK, Dave._"

"_Oh… well… Other Dave, because that's Proper Dave, the pilot. He was the first Dave. So when we–_"

The Doctor had had enough of his rambling. "_Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?_"

"_Yeah, oh… it's a bit darker._"

"_How much darker?_"

"_Well… like, I could see where we came through just a moment ago. I can't now._"

"_Seal up this door._" The Doctor ordered. "_We'll find another way out._"

"_Would you…_" Other Dave started, but the Time Lord had already moved away.

Mr Lux glared at him as he approached, his contracts clutched tightly in his hands. "_We're not looking for a way out. Miss Evangelista…_"

"_Err… I'm Mr Lux's Personal… Everything. You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the Library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation._" Cassie said quickly, reeling off the words she'd memorised.

"_Right… give it here…_" The Doctor said, taking the papers.

Donna copied. "_Yeah, lovely… thanks._"

The second the contracts were in their hands the Doctor and Donna tore them in half, throwing the bits on the ground. Evie grinned, recognising the exact movements she had her mother had made only days before when they had been handed the contracts. Cassie looked shocked and retreated to stand with Evie as Mr Lux moved forwards angrily.

"_My family built this Library. I have rights._" He snapped.

"_You have a mouth that won't stop._" River corrected him quickly. Then she turned to the Doctor, concern in her eyes. "_You think there's danger here?_"

"_Something came to this Library and killed everything in it. Killed a whole world. Danger? Could be._" He replied sarcastically.

"_That was a hundred years ago. The Library's been silent for 100 years._" The archaeologist argued. "_Whatever came here is long dead._"

"_Bet your life?_"

"_Always._" She grinned. He looked at her for a moment, intrigued, before turning away.

"Do you really think it's dangerous?" Cassie asked Evie. They were standing to the side watching everyone else without getting in their way. Without her realising, Evie was sneaking looks at Donna under her fringe, trying to work out what was going on in her head.

Evie shrugged, turning back to the young woman. "Who knows? But 'Danger' is my middle name!"

"Is it?" Cassie asked, impressed.

"No…" Evie replied slowly, trying not to laugh. "No, Cass, it isn't. I was joking. My middle name is Jessica."

"Oh…"

"_Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark._" The Doctor said in a low voice, scanning the corridor with a torch. Donna had moved to his side and everyone else was hanging on his every word. "_But they're wrong 'cos it's not irrational… it's Vashta Nerada._"

"_What's Vashta Nerada?_" Donna asked.

Evie was barely listening as the Doctor explained. He had told her all about them when she was little. River had been furious because it had stopped Evie sleeping for weeks. Even now she avoided shadows when possible.

"_It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark. Lights!_" He shouted suddenly, making them all jump. "_That's what we need. Lights! You got lights?_"

"_What for?_"

"_Form a circle, safe area, big as you can… lights pointing out._"

"_Why?_" Anita asked.

River looked at her. "_Do as he says._"

"_You're not listening to this man?_" Lux demanded, thinking the archaeologist had gone mad.

"_Apparently I am._" She said simply, before turning and issuing orders rapidly. "_Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure then help Anita. Mr Lux, put your helmet back on and block the visor. Proper Dave, find an active terminal, I want you to access the Library database. See what you can find out about what happened here 100 years ago. Pretty boy, you're with me. Step into my office._"

"Stop, now." Evie demanded as she passed her mother, carrying cables for Anita. "No flirting, please."

"_Professor Song?_" Mr Lux called, his voice muffled by his helmet, as River smirked at her daughter. "_Why am I the only one wearing my helmet?_"

"_I don't fancy you._" She told him with a smirk.

Evie rolled her eyes and stood close to the archaeologist again so that only she could hear her words. "Really? Is that really necessary? Should I put my helmet on too? Maybe then I wouldn't die of embarrassment."

"Obviously I don't fancy you either, sweetie, but I do like looking at your adorable little baby face… especially when you're pouting like you are now."

"I am so not pouting." Evie muttered, pouting even more.

River laughed. "_Pretty boy, with me I said!_"

"_Oh, I'm pretty boy?_" The Doctor asked, surprised, pointing at himself as he realised she was referring to him.

"_Yes!_" Donna pulled a face. "_Ooh… that came out a bit quick…_"

"_Pretty?_"

"_Meh…_" Donna agreed, tilting her head to one side and smirking slightly.

"Careful!" Evie exclaimed, moving to lean against the table beside her, shooting the woman a sideways look. "We don't want to inflate his ego anymore, do we?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hey lovelies! Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favouriting and alerting already! It means so, so much!**_

_**So, as a thank you, have chapter two today! **_

_**Hope you like it!**_

_**x**_


	3. You Were In My Library

"_Don't let your shadows cross!_" The Doctor ordered as he made his way over to River. "_Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected._"

Other Dave glanced up from the equipment he was laying out in confusion. "_How could a shadow be infected?_"

"_Excuse me, can I help?_" Cassie asked, feeling useless just standing around and watching the others busy at work.

"_No…_" Anita said quickly, smirking as she exchanged a glance with Other Dave. "_We're fine._"

"_I could just… you know… hold things?_"

"_No, really, we're OK._"

"Oi, Cass!" Evie called, still leaning against the table beside Donna. "Over here."

Donna and Miss Evangelista swapped placed, with the red-head moving to talk to Anita and Other Dave. Evie smiled weakly at the younger woman, wondering how she could possibly be as stupid as she was. Cassie truly was pretty but dim. Ordinarily Evie wouldn't have even bothered speaking to her, let alone sticking up for her and trying to be her friend. Sighing, she watched Donna walking back towards them.

Then she stopped, her eyes narrowing and Evie turned to see what she was staring at with such an expression on her face. River had one hand on the Doctor's cheek, staring at him as though seeing something completely new in him. Returning her gaze to Donna, Evie saw that the woman was watching the exchange with a protective glint in her eyes. The brunette couldn't quite work out the reason for the look on Donna's face and, if she hadn't known better, she'd have said that River was moving in on the red-head's man. As it was, she guessed that Donna was just concerned for her best friend and, possibly, a little jealous that River obviously felt she could touch him like that.

As they watched, River's hand fell from his face and her own face dropped, hurt contorting her features. Evie couldn't look at her mother feeling such obvious sadness and turned to Miss Evangelista instead, chattering about nonsense. The eye she was keeping on Donna noticed that the red-head looked a little less concerned now that River had removed her hand and backed off slightly.

The moment was interrupted by a buzzing sound. It was almost like… a phone ringing. Confused, Evie mirrored the others, looking wildly around for the source of the noise. There didn't seem to be anything that could possibly be making it.

"_Sorry, that was me!_" Proper Dave called moments later. "_Trying to get through into the security protocols, I seem to have set something off._"

"_What is that? Is that an alarm?_"

Donna took a wary step towards the Time Lord. "_Doctor… Doctor, that sounds like…_"

"_Yeah._" He agreed, not needing her to finish her sentence. "_It is. It's a phone._"

Evie furrowed her eyebrows, wondering how the sound could possibly be a phone. There was no phone in the room. Besides, Proper Dave had set it off with the security system on the computer.

"_I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding._" He explained a couple of minutes later, tapping away at the computer's keyboard. "_Just that noise._"

At his words, the Doctor ran across the room, Donna and Evie close at his heels.

"_But it's a phone!_" Donna pointed out.

Gently the Doctor pushed Proper Dave aside. "_Let me try something._"

He tapped at the controls until the ringing sound finally stopped. Immediately, though, a red warning sign with 'access denied' written across it flashed up on the monitor.

"_OK… it didn't like that, let's try something else._"

"Try bypassing the data core completely." Evie suggested, leaning around him to get a better look at what he was doing. "Go directly to the mainframe."

The Doctor glanced at her oddly, before returning his attention to the screen. For a few moments he ignored her suggestion. Then, apparently realising that it could work, he did as she had said. The screen went fuzzy, like the snow that appeared when the signal went down on a television.

"_OK… here it comes._" He muttered as the young woman smirked smugly. Without warning a picture appeared on the monitor and they all leant closer to see more clearly. A young girl, possibly about nine or ten, was sitting with her back partially turned. "_Hello?_"

She looked alarmed. "_Hello. Are you in my television?_"

"_Well… no… I'm… I'm… sort of in space…_" The Doctor told her, bewildered. "_I was trying to call up the data core of a Triple-Grid Security Processor._"

"_Would you like to speak to my dad?_"

"_Your dad or your mum… that would be lovely._"

"_I know you!_" The girl said suddenly after screwing up her face for a moment. "_You were in my Library!_"

Behind the Doctor, Evie glanced at River, her eyebrows furrowed. "Her Library?" She mouthed. Her mother shrugged.

"_Your Library?_"

"_The Library's never been on television before. What have you done?_"

The little girl's tone was so accusatory that the Doctor got flustered. "_Ah… well… umm… I just… re-routed the interface…_"

"She's gone!" Evie pointed out needlessly as the screen dissolved into the fuzzy snow once more and the little girl vanished.

"_What happened?_" River demanded as the Doctor began tapping at the controls in an attempt to get her back. 'Access denied' flashed up on the monitor once more. "_Who was that?_"

"_Keep working on those lights!_" The Doctor ordered, leaping across the room and ignoring her questions. "_I need those lights!_"

River followed him quickly. "_You heard him people, let there be light!_"

Evie watched as the Doctor reached out and picked up her mother's diary which had just been left on the side. River stopped him, taking it out of his grasp before he could look inside. Again the young woman caught Donna staring at the Time Lord, a curious expression on her face. The Doctor's eyes met hers for a moment before he looked down.

"You did that on purpose." Evie muttered in her mother's ear. "You left your diary on the side… you knew he wouldn't be able to resist."

The archaeologist glared at her. "I did no such thing! There's far too much at stake for me to just–"

"Well, be more careful then." Her daughter warned her, moving away and leaving River staring after her with a mixture of surprise and anger on her face.

Never before had Evie warned her mother about keeping their lives a secret. It had always been the other way around. Things were changing, the archaeologist thought to herself as the brunette marched away. Things were changing and that worried River immensely.

Evie had barely walked five paces when a large, heavy book flew off its shelf and smacked her in the side of the head. "Ooof!"

"_What's that?_" The Doctor asked, looking around at the strange phenomenon. All around them books were flying through the air. "_I didn't do that! Did you do that?_"

Everyone whirled around and ducked as heavy books came straight for them. Three managed to meet their mark, hitting Evie in the head. She was slightly dazed as the fourth volume came towards her and Donna was forced to drag her out of harm's way.

"_Not me._" Proper Dave assured him.

"_What's CAL?_" The Doctor demanded, staring at the computer screen in front of him once more, ignoring the flying books which continued to attack them. If anything they were getting more violent.

"Doctor!" Evie shouted as another book whacked her on the head. "Stop them!"

As quickly as the attack had started it stopped and they gathered their thoughts. Donna crossed the room to make sure Miss Evangelista was alright, evidently taking pity on her. Wondering whether to join in their conversation, Evie spotted River marching towards her, apparently keen to continue their argument, and decided to go and help Anita and Other Dave with the wiring instead.


	4. Ice Cream

A matter of minutes passed before the books began throwing themselves off the shelves again. Convinced she was going to end up with bumps all over her head, Evie dived for cover out of harm's way.

"_What's causing that?_" River demanded, looking around. "_Is it the little girl?_"

"_Who is that little girl? What's she got to do with this place?_" The Doctor mused, ignoring the raining book situation.

A couple of minutes later it stopped again and Evie crawled out from under the desk, dusting herself off. The Doctor climbed onto the table, almost crouching on it, rather than sitting. Everyone watched him, eager for answers.

"_How does the data core work?_" He asked River fiercely. "_What's the principle? What's CAL?_"

She looked back at him, her face blank and expressionless. "_Ask Mr Lux._"

"_CAL? What is it?_"

"_Sorry, you didn't sign your personal experience contracts._" Mr Lux told him awkwardly. Evie rolled her eyes and exhaled sharply, not realising that both Donna and her mother had done exactly the same thing at precisely the same moment.

The Doctor leapt off the table. "_Mr Lux… right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life and you're protecting a patent?_"

"_I'm protecting my family's pride._" The man corrected him.

"_Well, funny thing, Mr Lux, I don't wanna see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important._"

"_Then why don't you sign his contract?_" River asked, breaking the uneasy silence that had fallen between the two men. The Doctor turned to look at her, staring as though she were insane. "_I didn't either… I'm getting worse than you._"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, before starting to pace. He came to a stop beside Donna, so close to her that they were almost touching. In fact, Evie thought, they probably were. "_OK, OK… Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day… 100 years ago… what physically happened?_"

"_There was a message from the Library._" River said when no one else spoke up. "_Just one; 'The lights are going out'. Then the computer sealed the planet and there was nothing for 100 years._"

"_It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in._" Mr Lux added.

"_Umm… excuse me._" Miss Evangelista called politely from somewhere behind them. Evie intended to turn around, but she was too busy staring at the Doctor.

"_Not just now._" Mr Lux snapped at her, staring at the Time Lord as well.

"_There was one other thing in the last message._" River continued harshly.

Mr Lux reached forwards. "_That's confidential._"

"_I trust this man… with my life, with everything._"

"_You've only just met him!_" Mr Lux said incredulously.

Evie was deeply intrigued by Donna and the Doctor's reactions, not to mention their body language. At her mother's words, the Doctor had looked surprised but Donna had looked downright annoyed. The brunette couldn't work out the dynamics between them at all… it was too confusing.

"_Nope, he's only just met me._"

"_Umm… this might be important, actually._" Miss Evangelista called again. Once more she was brushed off without anyone taking her seriously.

"_In a moment!_" Mr Lux snapped, scowling at River who was showing the Doctor something on her hand-held computer. Donna was watching the archaeologist suspiciously and Evie was watching the red-head curiously.

"_This is a data extract that came with the message._" River explained.

"'_4,022 saved. No survivors.'_" The Doctor read slowly.

"_4,022… that's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed._"

Donna moved closer and looked at the device. "_But… how can 4,022 people have been saved if there were no survivors?_"

"_That's what we're here to find out._" River told her in a low voice.

"_And so far what we haven't found are any bodies._"

Evie shivered at the prospect, turning to look around the room as though she expected to see some lying about. Then a realisation hit her.

"Hang on… there's someone missing. Where's–" Her question was cut off by a loud, piercing scream from somewhere beyond the room.

In an instant everyone turned and sprinted through the opening that had appeared in the back wall of the room. A panel appeared to have risen up of its own accord. They turned left, racing along a corridor and entered a large, shadowy room. By the looks of it, it was a reading room. Books lay open where they'd just been abandoned a century before.

Evie's mouth fell open in horror as they came to a halt in front of a large, ornately carved chair in the centre of the room. On the chair sat a skeleton. Everyone stared at it wordlessly for a moment. As she gazed at it, Evie felt a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and a thought occurred to her, which she banished from her mind, unwilling to believe it.

"_Everybody careful, stay in the light!_" The Doctor ordered.

"_You keep saying that…_" Proper Dave muttered. "_I don't see the point._"

The Doctor glared at him. "_Who screamed?_"

"_Miss Evangelista._"

"_And where is she?_"

River pressed a button on her intercom, speaking into it. "_Miss Evangelista, please state your current–_" She stopped speaking abruptly as an echo of her voice sounded from the skeleton. Evie's stomach flipped as she couldn't ignore the nagging idea in her mind anymore. She knew who the skeleton was… had been. River gazed at it, horrified, before taking a couple of steps forwards. "_Please state your current…_ _position._" She reached out and pulled the intercom out from behind the skeleton's neck, staring at it in horror. "_It's her…_"

Evie clamped her hands over her mouth. "Oh… god…"

"_That's Miss Evangelista._" Her mother repeated.

"_We heard her scream a few seconds ago._" Anita pointed out. "_What could do that to a person in a few seconds?_"

"_It took a lot less than a few seconds._"

"_What did?_"

Evie almost screamed as she heard Miss Evangelista's voice. "_Hello?_"

"_Uhh… I'm sorry everyone._" River said apologetically. "_Umm… this isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting._"

"_She's what?_" Donna asked, her voice shaking with emotion. Evie screwed up her face, wondering the same thing.

"_Hello? Excuse me. I– I'm sorry, hello? Excuse me._"

"_That's… that's her._" Donna muttered. "_That's Miss Evangelista._"

"_I don't wanna sound horrible, but couldn't we just… you know…_"

River turned to look at Proper Dave. "_This is her last moment, no, we can't. A little respect, thank you._"

"_Sorry… where am I? Excuse me?_"

Evie closed her eyes, feeling sick at the sound of the young woman's voice being emitted from a pile of bones. Miss Evangelista had been so alive and young and pretty… Evie thought that this was one of the most horrible things she'd ever experienced.

"_But… That's Miss Evangelista?_" Donna repeated, looking horrified and disgusted and confused all at the same time.

"_It's a data ghost._" River explained. "_She'll be gone in a moment._" Pressing the button on her own intercom, the woman spoke in a calm, reassuring voice. "_Miss Evangelista, you're fine. Just relax. We'll be with you presently._"

"_What's a data ghost?_"

"_There's a neural relay in the communicator, lets you send thought-mails._" The Doctor told his companion in a low voice, his eyes barely leaving the skeleton. "_That's it there… those green lights. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. Like an after image._"

Anita sniffed. "My grandfather lasted a day… kept talking about his shoelaces."

Donna seemed to be having trouble accepting what she was being told. Evie, who had never encountered data ghosts before was also struggling with the idea. She barely concealed a sob and saw that River was glancing at her in concern. Figuring that they all thought she was young anyway and so wouldn't be surprised that she was upset, Evie moved to her mother's side, burying her face in the woman's shoulder. No one gave them a second look as River wrapped an arm around the younger woman tightly, her eyes still locked on the skeleton.

"_She's in there…_" Donna almost whispered.

"_I can't see. I can't… where am I?_"

"_She's just brainwaves now… pattern won't hold for long._" Proper Dave said quietly.

Donna shook her head, her eyes watering. "_But… she's conscious. She's thinking._"

"_I can't see… I can't… I don't know what I'm thinking._"

"_She's a footprint on the beach._" The Doctor told his companion. "_And the tide's coming in._"

"_Where's that woman?_" Miss Evangelista's voice asked. "_The nice woman… i– is she there?_"

"_What woman?_"

"_She means…_" Donna swallowed and winced slightly. "_I think sh– she means… me._"

"_Is she there? The nice woman?_ And Evie? Are they there?"

Evie blinked and glanced at her mother, who gazed down at her for a moment before reaching for the button on her intercom. "_Yes… they're here. Hang on._" Once she'd pressed the button again, she nodded at Donna. "_Go ahead, she can hear you._"

"_Hello, are you there?_"

The brunette had no idea what to say. She looked at Donna and realised that she didn't know either. The older woman shook her head, her mouth open but no words coming out.

"_Help her._" The Doctor urged, placing his hand on his friend's back. He looked at Evie and nodded.

"_She's dead…_"

"_Yeah, help her._"

"_Hello? Is that the nice woman?_ Evie, are you there?"

Donna took a couple of steps forwards, smiling weakly. Following her lead, Evie moved forwards as well.

"_Yeah…_" Donna said quietly. "_Hello. Yeah, I'm… I'm… we're here. You OK?_"

"Hi, Cass…" Evie mumbled, unsure what to do to help her.

"_What I said before, about being stupid…_ about no one else making such stupid mistakes… _, don't tell the others, they'll only laugh._" She pleaded. Evie and Donna glanced at each other.

Donna nodded. "_Of course I won't. Course I won't tell them._"

"No way, Cassie, I won't say anything." Evie agreed.

"_Don't tell the others they'll only laugh._"

"_I won't tell them… I said, I won't._"

"I promise."

Both Donna and Evie were crying, now, but Miss Evangelista repeated her request. Both women looked at the Doctor, wondering what was happening.

"_We're not going to tell them._"

"_Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh._"

"_She's looping now, the pattern's degrading._" River explained as Evie glanced at her, horrified.

"_I can't think… I… I don't know… I… I… I… Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream…_"

"_Does anybody mind if I...?_" River asked as Miss Evangelista continued to repeat the words over and over again. She moved forward and reached out, pulling the intercom apart and stopping the young woman's voice.

"_That was… that was horrible._" Donna muttered, vocalising Evie's thoughts, as River stared at the intercom for a moment or two. "_That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen._"

"_Well… it's just a freak of technology._" River said, slipping the intercom into her pocket. She glanced at Evie, before looking around the room, her voice wavering with emotion. "_Whatever did this to her… whatever killed her… I'd like a word with that._"

The Doctor's expression hardened. "_I'll introduce you._"


	5. Run Just Run

They left the room quickly and Evie was glad to leave the skeleton behind. As soon as they were back in the first room once more, the Doctor was immediately in action mode.

"_I'm gonna need a packed lunch._" He announced, waving his torch around.

"_Hang on…_" River reached into her bag and pulled out her diary in the search for her lunchbox.

The Doctor crouched beside her. "_What's in that book?_"

"_Spoilers._" She told him in a strange, almost defeated, voice, refusing to meet his eyes. Evie glanced at Donna, who was almost glaring at River.

"_Who are you?_"

"_Professor River Song, University of–_"

He cut her off. "_To me. Who are you to me?_"

"_Again, spoilers._"

Evie wanted to say something, to save her mother the pain that this conversation was obviously causing her. But she couldn't, her mouth had gone dry and her brain wouldn't work. A glance to her side told her that Donna was still glaring at River.

The archaeologist held out her lunch box. "_Chicken and a bit of salad… knock yourself out._"

There was a long pause as the pair of them stared at each other. Then the Doctor jumped to his feet, business-like once more. Evie approached River cautiously as her mother stood, looking as though she'd just had the air knocked out of her.

"_Right you lot! Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada._" The Doctor said loudly, spinning his torch theatrically and catching it deftly. Evie rolled her eyes and watched as he moved forwards quickly.

Bending down, the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and observed the shadows around him. Then he lay on the floor, pressing the button on his device that scanned the shadows, analysing them with a high-pitched whine. River smiled fondly, watching him work.

"_You travel with him, don't you?_" She asked suddenly, not even able to tear her gaze away from the Time Lord for long enough to glance quickly at Donna. "_The Doctor? You travel with him._"

Donna looked at her, fixing her with a challenging stare. "_What of it?_"

Evie wondered whether she was going to have to break up some kind of catfight. Both of them were being fiercely protective of the Doctor, treating him as their own territory. The young woman still hadn't worked out exactly what was going on between the Time Lord and his companion.

River turned to look at Donna, taking her tone into account and her expression reflecting her thoughts. She was evidently wondering why the red-head was suddenly being so defensive.

"_You know him, don't you?_" Donna asked after a couple of minutes as they watched Proper Dave leave his perch on the desk and move over to join them.

River smirked, her voice full of meaning. "_Oh, god, do I know that man! We go way back, that man and me. Just not this far back._ Well, not really..."

"_I'm sorry, what?_"

"_He hasn't met me yet._" River said. Then she stopped remembering. "Well, he has, I suppose, but not properly." Donna was staring at her as though she was talking a different language. "_I sent him a message, but it went wrong. It arrived too early. This is the Doctor in the days before he knew me. And he looks at me… He looks right through me and it shouldn't kill me… but it does._"

There was a split second of quiet, before Donna screwed up her face in distain. "_What're you talking about? Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know him, or don't you?_"

"_Donna!_" The Doctor shouted warningly, still lying on the floor. "_Quiet, I'm working._"

"_Sorry…_" She muttered.

River was staring at Donna as though she had just realised something. "_Donna… you're Donna... Donna Noble._" Evie stared at her mother in confusion. Of course it was Donna… they knew Donna better than almost anyone else.

"_Yeah, why?_"

Evie was unable to stay quiet any longer, wondering what her mother could possibly be getting at. "River?"

"_I do know the Doctor, but in the future. His… personal… future._"

"_Well… so why don't you know me?_" Donna asked, her eyes moving over the other woman's face looking for answers. "_Where am I in the future?_"

For a moment River stared at Donna, wondering what to tell her. She and her daughter had lived by spoilers for so long that she was wary of saying anything without thinking it through carefully first, identifying all possible problems with any information that she gave out. Donna glanced at Evie who had furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment. She didn't understand why her mother seemed to be acting as though she didn't know who the red-head was.

"_OK!_" The Doctor called, interrupting the moment. "_Got a live one._"

The three women turned to look at him. Donna looked annoyed, River looked upset and Evie looked totally confused. The Doctor jumped to his feet and glanced at them for a moment before deciding not to comment.

"_That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow._" He said, reaching down and picking up River's lunch. "_It's a swarm; a man-eating swarm._" He threw the chicken drumstick into the shadow as they all watched carefully. No sooner had the food touched the darker area, the meat was stripped from the bone. The bone itself clattered to the floor, the noise it made loud in the silence. "_The piranhas of the air… the Vashta Nerada. Literally the shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale… or this aggressive._"

"_What d'you mean most planets?_" Donna asked, crouching at his side. "_Not Earth?_"

"_Mmm… Earth. And a billion other worlds. Where there's meat there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes if you look; the dust in sunbeams._"

Donna shook her head in disbelief. "_If they were on Earth we'd know._"

"_Nah… normally they live on road-kill. But sometimes people go missing… not everyone comes back out of the dark._"

As he spoke, the others raised their torches nervously, spinning around and shining the light into the darkness that was falling around them. The light outside was dimming and it was difficult to distinguish between the impending darkness and shadows.

"_Every shadow?_" River asked nervously.

"_No, but any shadow._"

"_So what do we do?_"

"_Daleks, aim for the eye-stalk… Sontarans, back of the neck… Vashta Nerada…_" The Doctor swivelled to look seriously at River and Evie. "_Run. Just run._"

"_Run? Run where?_" The archaeologist demanded looking terrified.

"_This is an index point; there must be an exit teleport somewhere._"

"_Don't look at me!_" Mr Lux exclaimed. "_I haven't memorised the schematics!_"

"_Doctor… the little shop. They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff!_" Donna reminded him, pointing through the glass to the shop.

The Doctor sprinted to the door way and leant through it. "_You're right! Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop._"

"_OK, let's move it._"

"_Actually, Proper Dave… Could you stay where you are for a moment?_" The Doctor asked in a quieter, more subdued voice.

"_Why?_"

"_I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry._" River and Evie exchanged a look, before returning their attention to the pilot. "_But you've got two shadows._" They all glanced down slowly, looks of horror twisting all of their faces. "_It's how they hunt. They latch onto a food source and keep it fresh._"

"_What do I do?_" Proper Dave asked in a shaky voice.

"_You stay absolutely still, like there's a wasp in the room… like there's a million wasps._"

"_We're not leaving you, Dave._" River assured him quickly.

"_Of course we're not leaving you._" The Doctor agreed. "_Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me._"

"_On the floor… by my bag._"

Evie moved to pick it up, skirting round his shadow as the Doctor shouted, "_Don't cross his shadow!_" She rolled her eyes, but said nothing, retrieving the helmet and handing it to the Doctor carefully.

"Here…"

"_Thanks… now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got._"


	6. I Have a Bad Feeling About This

Evie put her own helmet back on and noticed her mother looking at her with a calculating expression on her face. The younger woman stared back at her questioningly. With a smile that didn't convince her daughter, River turned away.

"_But… Doctor? We haven't got any helmets._" Donna pointed out.

"_Yeah, but we're safe anyway._"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "_How are we safe?_"

"_We're not. That was a clever lie to shut you up._" He admitted. Donna nodded, before she realised the implications and glared at him again. "_Professor? Anything I can do with the suit?_"

Mr Lux glared at him. "_What good are the damn suits? Miss Evangelista was wearing a suit… there was nothing left._"

"_We can increase the mesh density. Dial it up 400%... make it a tougher meal._" River suggested hurriedly.

"_OK…_" He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and fitted it into the front of Proper Dave's suit. It made the familiar high-pitched whining noise for a couple of seconds before he removed it and held the device out. "_800%... pass it on._"

River held up the sonic screwdriver that the Doctor had given her as a present the last time she'd seen him. "_Gotcha._"

"_What's that?_" He demanded, freezing and staring at the device in her hand.

"_It's a screwdriver._"

"_It's sonic…_"

"_Yeah, I know. Snap!_" River agreed, moving around and dialling up the density on the space suits of her crew. Donna and, particularly, the Doctor stared at her in shock. Evie smirked as her mother darted around.

Grabbing Donna's hand, the Doctor pulled her towards the shop. "_With me, come on._"

Watching them for a second, River furrowed her eyebrows. Then realisation crossed her face and she flicked her eyes in Evie's direction.

Grabbing her daughter firmly by the wrist, River ignored her arguments and dragged her in the direction the Doctor and Donna had just disappeared. She ignored Evie's complaints and demands to know what was going on. Briefly pausing by the doorway, the archaeologist stared at her, her eyes raking over the brunette's face.

"Think about it… if Donna and the Doctor knew about this, why didn't they ever mention it to us?"

Evie shook her head. "I… I don't know? Maybe they forgot."

"I doubt it. I think that either we're not supposed to be here, now, or…"

"Or what?"

"Or something bad is going to happen. Something they didn't want to tell us."

Her daughter felt a chill run down her spine. "Like what?" River didn't answer, but the look in her eyes was enough for Evie to gasp. She shook her head. "Surely if… death… was involved they'd have warned us?"

"You can't re-write history, Evie."

"You can." The younger woman said firmly. "I've done it before."

Sighing, River shook her head and pulled Evie into the little shop. The Doctor and Donna abruptly stopped the conversation and glanced over to stare at them. The red-head was standing on some kind of teleport platform, her hands on her hips and her eyes flashing furiously, while the Doctor stood at the controls. Apparently they were having some sort of argument. Evie expected nothing less of the fiery red-head.

"Let Evie go too." River requested of the Doctor quickly, her eyes pleading with him not to argue with her on this one.

"Let Evie go too, where?" The young woman demanded suspiciously, her gaze flicking between her parents.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes, immediately suspicious. "Professor Song?"

"Just… she's too young for this. She's out of her depth." River continued, ignoring the furious glares being sent in her direction by her daughter.

"I'm not too young! And I am NOT out of my depth! What are you even–"

"She's just a kid." Her mother continued, pointedly avoiding her gaze. "She shouldn't even be here. She's just a promising first-year student on a fast-track scholarship… she's younger than most of the students I teach. But she begged and begged to be allowed on the expedition so I eventually gave in."

Evie was too angry at her mother's words to speak for a moment. She soon found her voice and rounded on her furiously, shrieking as loudly as she could. "What are you talking about! I'm thirty-five!"

Donna snorted with laughter, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah? On what planet? You're seventeen… you told me when we met three weeks ago on the Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade."

Silently cursing the fact that she still looked so young and the accuracy of Donna's memory, Evie was forced to admit to herself that she understood why the woman was so convinced that she was a teenager. Turning her back on the teleport machine, she hissed in her mother's ear. "What are you doing?"

"I have a bad feeling about this… I told you. I think you need to keep an eye on Donna."

"Why? She's fine."

"Just… trust me, Evie." River sighed, looking exhausted. Then her face hardened and she glared at her daughter. "For once in your life do as I ask!"

The Doctor looked between the two women impatiently, wondering what they were saying. "Are you coming or not?"

"Yes, she is." The archaeologist told him firmly, pushing the younger woman towards Donna on the teleport platform.

"Good. Fine." He snapped, almost in exasperation, as Donna caught hold of Evie who had stumbled as she tripped onto the teleport platform. The older woman steadied the girl as she found her feet.

"Bye then, Professor." Evie said, sarcastically, glaring at her.

She couldn't believe that, yet again her mother wanted to ship her off somewhere safe, wrapping her up in cotton wool, when there was danger and excitement all around her. As far as the young woman was concerned, her mother should know that Evie could deal with anything that was thrown at her. She knew, however, that judging by the look on the archaeologist's face there was no way she would ever win this argument.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Donna snapped holding her hands up. "I am not going anywhere, Doctor!"

"_Donna, let me explain._" The Doctor said exasperatedly. Then he rammed the handle down and both the women felt a strange sensation rippling through them, as though they were being pulled into a vacuum.

Split seconds later, Evie saw the TARDIS materialising around her. For a moment she felt totally relaxed, calmed by the familiar surroundings of the time machine. Then a thought occurred to her; if she was stuck here, at least she could do something to help, surely.

She barely had time to look sideways at the woman beside her, before a terrible wrenching pain ripped through her body and she screamed. In her ear she could hear Donna screaming as well.

Then everything went black.

x-x

"_So? What's the plan?_" River asked the Doctor a while later. They'd lost Proper Dave to the Vashta Nerada, although they seemed to be using his body. "_We have a plan?_"

"_Your screwdriver… looks exactly like mine._" He said, ignoring the question and staring at her as though he was trying to understand.

"_Yeah. You gave it to me._"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "_I don't give my screwdriver to anyone._"

"_I'm not anyone._"

"_Who are you?_"

River ignored the question, tucking the screwdriver away. "_What's the plan?_"

"_I teleported Donna and Evie back to the TARDIS. If we don't get back there in under five hours Emergency Programme One will activate._"

"_Take them home, yeah._" She turned and called to the remainder of her crew who were still catching their breath. "We need to get a shift on!"

"_They're not there…_" He muttered, looking carefully at his sonic screwdriver. "_I should've received a signal. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach._"

The woman's heart flipped over in her chest as she processed his words. Doing her best to stay calm, she racked her brain. "_Well… maybe the coordinates have slipped? The equipment here's ancient._"

The Doctor sprinted over to one of the strange information nodes. "_Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library, d'you have the software to locate her position?_"

Slowly the information node's head moved around to face them. River clapped a hand over her mouth as she saw whose face was on the device. The Doctor took an instinctive step backwards in horror.

"_Donna Noble has left the Library._" Donna said, her voice coming out of the node. "_Donna Noble has been saved._"

As the full realisation of the situation hit River, she stumbled slightly, clutching the bookshelf beside her for support. Her heart seemed to be trying to rip itself out of her chest. Glancing around, she spotted another node a little way away and sprinted to it, clutching at the cold plastic desperately.

"Where's Evie… Evie Song? Is she here?" She demanded furiously.

The node's head turned slowly, a soft mechanical noise accompanying the movement. "Evie Song has left the Library. Evie Song has been saved."

"No!" River choked out, pressing her hands to her mouth and leaning against the bookcase. "Evie…"

Her daughter's face looked down at her sightlessly, staring blankly ahead of her. She kept repeating the words until River couldn't bear it anymore and stumbled back towards the Doctor.

The sound of Proper Dave's voice cut through her distress and River took a deep breath, reminding herself that she needed to concentrate on getting out of here. Then they could work out what had happened to Evie and Donna and stand some chance of getting them back.


	7. And Then You Remembered

Evie looked around in confusion. She was in some kind of large, airy room. There was a bed in the middle, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe along two of the other walls and a dressing table underneath the large bay window. Looking down at herself, the woman realised that she was wearing an outfit that looked suspiciously like pyjamas; pyjamas that she'd never normally be seen dead in. She was more of a joggers and vest-top girl, while these pyjamas matched, for one thing.

As the room and her attire didn't offer her any clues as to where she was and what was happening, Evie moved slowly over to the window and looked out. She pulled up the net curtain that partially obscured her view, pushing it out of the way agitatedly. Why was she in a bedroom with net curtains?

Outside was a large expanse of green as far as she could see, split up by a long gravel driveway that wound away through the trees and disappeared from sight. A vehicle which looked like an ambulance was driving away from the building where she was. By her estimations she was on either the second or third floor.

"Evie?" A voice said quietly behind her; a man's voice which she didn't recognise. "Are you feeling better?"

The woman whirled around quickly, backing closer to the window and further away from the man. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Don't you remember?"

"No! I wouldn't have asked otherwise, would I?" She snapped suspiciously.

"I am Doctor Moon. You came here with your Aunt after you were both involved in a car crash several years ago. When you recovered physically you were suffering from amnesia, do you remember? I've been treating you since you arrived here." The man told her, his voice deep and rich and totally convincing.

Evie nodded slowly. "Oh, sorry, yes… I… of course, the crash. My Aunt?"

"Donna is fine."

"Donna… Donna Noble."

Dr Moon fixed her with a proud smile, as though she were a small child who had just taken her first steps. "That's it!"

"How could I forget Aunt Donna… the crash…?" She muttered, walking to the bed and sitting on the end, sinking into the thick duvet.

"You forgot… and then you remembered."

Evie nodded again, before fixing him with a smile. "Where's Donna now?"

"She's actually just gone home with her husband. She comes to visit you every day. With it being just the two of you, I know she'll be delighted that you're feeling so much better. She was disappointed to find that you were sleeping today."

"When can I go home?"

"Oh… only a couple of days now." Dr Moon said with a smile.

Blinking in astonishment, Evie found herself sitting on a sofa in a nicely furnished living room. On one side of her was Dr Moon.

"I asked when I could go home and… now I'm here."

Dr Moon smiled. "Good, isn't it? You made an astonishing recovery."

"_Stop it!_" Donna ordered as a pair of small children ran around, screaming and shouting excitedly. "_Stop it now!_ Evie's just come home and _we've got a visitor!_"

"_You've done so much in seven years, Donna._" Dr Moon said, looking at a photo album of pictures of Donna's life. Evie stared at it curiously over his shoulder, trying to piece things together in her mind. There were photos of her wedding, the birth of her children… there were even photos of Evie in the album.

"_Sometimes it feels more like 70._" The red-head sighed, sitting on the sofa between Evie and Dr Moon. "_Mind you, sometimes it feels like no time at all._ And now Evie's so much better…"

"I'm sure you'll have lots more memories to put in that album." The doctor told them, standing up. He picked up his briefcase and smiled at the two women. Donna put an arm around Evie, hugging her tightly. "_Can I just say what a pleasure it is to see you fully integrated?_ Hopefully Evie will find it just as easy."

They smiled at him. Then their mouths dropped open as he became pixelated and faded in and out of sight. Donna and Evie exchanged a look of complete confusion, memories rushing to the surface.

"_The signal's definitely coming from the moon… I'm blocking it but it's trying to break through… DONNA!_" The Doctor shouted, appearing in the space where Dr Moon had just been standing and spotting them. His mouth dropped open. "It's Donna and Evie!"

No sooner had he spoken than he vanished and Dr Moon was in the room once more, rubbing his stomach. "_Oops! Sorry. Mrs Angelo's rhubarb surprise! Will I never learn?_"

Donna gasped for breath, sitting heavily in the arm chair and clutching at Evie's arm. The younger woman blinked several times, trying to clear her head and work out what she'd just seen.

"But that was…"

"_The Doctor!_" Donna finished Evie's sentence, glancing at her before staring at Dr Moon. "_I saw the Doctor._"

"_Yes._" Dr Moon agreed. "_You did, Donna,_ Evie, _and then you forgot._"

A strange, glazed expression came over both women's faces for a moment. Then they both blinked, shook their heads and smiled at the doctor.

"_Dr Moon! Oh, hello!_" Donna gushed, beaming at him and stepping closer. "_Shall I make you a cup of tea?_ Have you come to check up on Evie?"

"Yes… how are you doing, Evie? You've been home a month now. How are you integrating?" He said smoothly.

"Sit down, sit down." Donna urged, hurrying off to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Doing as she asked, Dr Moon sat on the sofa and Evie cautiously sat beside him, feeling a little uneasy.

He smiled warmly. "So, Evie, how are things going? Are you enjoying school?"

"Y-yes." She agreed slowly, blinking. "School. Of course. I'm really enjoying it. Obviously I've got so much to catch up on, but it's great to be back with people my own age again."

"She'll be moving out before you know it!" Dr Moon chuckled as Donna reappeared and handed them both a mug of tea.

As Evie raised it to her lips, she was shocked to find she was in a completely different room. It was far smaller than Donna's living room and appeared to be a kitchen. It was white and modern and Evie was perched on a stool at a breakfast bar. Beside her, Donna took a sip from her own mug, confusion evident in her eyes.

"Thank you for inviting me over, Evie." Dr Moon said from the other side of the breakfast bar. "You must be so excited about having your own flat? Donna, I'm sure it'll be strange not having her around."

"Yes, it definitely will." The red-head agreed with a smile.

Evie glanced at her. "I thought we were at yours, Donna?"

"We were and now we're here." Dr Moon said. "You just forgot."

"Oh… yes." The young woman agreed with a nod. There was the sound of a key in a lock and the flat door opened. Evie stared at it nervously, unsure who it could be.

A tall, dark haired young man walked in, taking off his jacket and smiling warmly at them. He shook hands with Dr Moon, kissed Donna on the cheek and sat on the stool next to Evie, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The young woman glanced sideways at Donna who, thankfully, also looked a little taken aback.

"Alex!" Dr Moon smiled. "I was wondering when you'd make an appearance. I hear congratulations are in order."

"Yes!" The young man, Alex, agreed chuckling and raising Evie's left hand. She hadn't noticed the sparkling diamond ring until now. "I asked for about the fifth time and she finally said yes!"

"Exciting!" Evie murmured, her head swimming with confused thoughts.


	8. You Didn't Forget, Did You?

When Dr Moon and Donna had gone, Evie was left alone in the new flat with Alex. He smiled brightly at her and set about making dinner and telling her about his day. She had indistinct memories that involved him and others that didn't. Trying to work out which were real and which were just daydreams was incredibly difficult.

Sitting on the bar stool with her chin resting on her hand she watched him thoughtfully. He was good looking, there was no doubting that, and he made her laugh with his anecdotes and observations. He was obviously determined, if it had taken at least five attempts to get her to agree to marry him. But there was just something about him, about the whole situation, that she didn't understand.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" He asked, leaning on the counter with his elbows and fixing her with a steady gaze. "Something's bothering you. Is it your memory again?"

"Yes… no… I'm not sure." Evie admitted.

He laughed softly and moved around the breakfast bar to stand in front of her. Pulling her out of her seat, he held her hands tightly and looked down at her. "Tell me."

"I don't know what there is to say."

"Maybe you're just stressed about the wedding." He suggested and she nodded weakly. "I mean, it is only a week away now."

Evie spluttered with shock, her breath catching in her throat. She coughed and Alex had to bash her on the back. "A week?"

"Yes, you didn't forget, did you?" He asked, looking so dejected that she didn't have the heart to admit she had.

"No, of course not! I just can't believe it's so soon."

"Wonderful, isn't it?"

"Mmmm…"

The next thing Evie knew she was standing at the altar of a Church, Alex grinning down at her happily as she turned to look up at him. Sneaking a glance over her shoulder she saw Donna sitting in the first pew with Lee, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. Their children, Joshua and Ella, sat with them – the little boy in a pageboy outfit and his sister in a bridesmaid's dress.

Evie took a deep breath, steadying herself and wondering why it felt as though all this had happened so fast. Putting it down to nerves, she listed as the Vicar spoke, responding in the right places and allowing her new husband to put the silver ring on her finger.

"Evie!" Donna laughed, pulling her into a tight hug. Music was playing loudly and lights flashed different colours, sweeping over the people dancing wildly around them. "You look gorgeous! The perfect bride! If only your parents could have seen you."

A heaviness washed over both women for a moment as they tried to remember something that was just out of their reach. Then Evie shook her head and smiled, grabbing Donna's hands and forcing her to dance. For a moment, the older woman protested, claiming she was too old to dance, but the brunette ignored her.

"Donna… do you sometimes feel like this has all been too quick?" She asked a while later, pulling her over to a table by the window and sitting down heavily.

"What? The wedding?" Donna looked meaningfully at Evie's stomach. "We did wonder…"

"No, no! It's… everything. I don't remember things. Time seems to just… Dr Moon said that I'd be moving out soon and then I was in my new flat. Alex said there wasn't long 'til the wedding and here we are."

The red-head looked at her oddly. "I wondered about that… I noticed it too. Maybe it's a side-effect of the amnesia we got in the crash?"

"But don't you think that's a bit odd as well? Both of us getting amnesia?"

Donna nodded. She opened her mouth to speak, but they were interrupted by a familiar, deep voice.

"Donna, Evie!" Dr Moon said with a warm smile. "Or should I call you Mrs McAvoy and Mrs Wynters? I can't believe how far you've both come since the crash."

"Thanks." Evie said, suddenly slightly uncomfortable around the man.

As though Donna was feeling the same way, she excused herself and went to find Lee in the crowd of people dancing. As soon as she'd left, Alex appeared and apologised to the man before whisking his new wife away. They laughed, watching Lee and Donna dancing with their children on their feet.

"Maybe we should think about children?" Alex suggested, smiling at her.

Evie closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was lying on the sofa in her flat and someone was banging on the front door. Sighing, she hauled herself to her feet, leaning backwards slightly to compensate for the very-pregnant stomach she was supporting.

"Look at this." Donna said, pushing a scrap of paper into her hand and moving to put the kettle on. Joshua and Ella ran into the flat, turning on the television and settling on the recently vacated sofa.

Staring quizzically at the older woman and unfolding the paper, Evie waddled into the kitchen area and perched on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. '_Dear Donna._' She read quickly, moving her lips wordlessly as she did so. '_The world is wrong. Meet me at your usual play park, 2 o'clock tomorrow. _Bring Evie.' It wasn't signed.

"Who's it from?"

Donna shrugged. "I have no idea. Will you come with me?"

Evie nodded.

"_Alright you two, off you go._" Donna told her children as they walked into the park. "_No fighting._" As they ran happily away, she motioned with her head towards the figure sitting completely still on the bench dressed all in black. She even had a long black veil covering its face. "That's her… that's the person I saw through the window when the note was delivered."

Meeting Donna's eye, Evie shrugged. "Here goes nothing."

They walked quickly towards the bench, not saying anything to each other and keeping their eyes on the figure. Nervously they sat beside her, one either side. They had no other choice because the woman was sitting in the middle of the seat.

"_I got your note last night._" Donna said, a hint of warning in her voice. "_'The world is wrong.' What's that mean?_"

"_No you didn't._" The figure said. Instantly, somewhere in the back of her mind, Evie was sure she recognised the voice. Rubbing her hands over her huge stomach, she screwed up her face, trying to remember where she'd heard it before.

"_I'm sorry, what?_"

"_You didn't get my note last night. You got it a few seconds ago._"

"No…" Evie argued. "She must have got it last night because she came and told me about it this morning."

Shaking her head, the figure explained. "_Having decided to come_, you found that you were at Evie's flat. Then, when she agreed to come, _you suddenly found yourself arriving. That is how time progresses here, in the manner of a dream. _You wondered why it felt wrong, didn't you?"

"How can that be right?" Evie demanded, swivelling to face the woman. She pointed at the wedding ring on her finger and then her stomach. "That didn't happen a few seconds ago and, looking at the size of me, you can't deny that this definitely wasn't overnight."

"I am right though, aren't I?" The woman asked and completely ignoring Evie's arguments. "_You've suspected that before, haven't you, Donna Noble?_ Evie Robinson."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hello my lovelies!**_

_**Thank you all so, so much for reading and reviewing! It really does mean a lot, especially while I'm ridiculously stressed and on the verge of tears most of the time! Your comments really do cheer me up!**_

_**So, I hope you continuing enjoying and letting me know!**_

_**x**_


	9. Cyberspace

"_How d'you know me?_" Donna demanded weakly, hearing the woman use their names. "How do you know us?"

"_We met before… in the Library. You were kind to me. I hope now to return that kindness._"

Evie shook her head, totally confused. "Library? What Library?"

"_Your voice…_" Donna murmured. She looked as though she were somewhere far away, thinking about something important. "_I recognise it._"

The younger woman blinked at her, recalling her first thoughts when she'd heard the veiled woman speaking. "I thought I did… but it's impossible."

"It's not impossible. And, _yes, you do. I am what is left of Miss Evangelista._" The woman said. Images flashed through Evie's mind as she heard the name; a pretty young woman, a white space suit and books… so many books.

A quick glance in Donna's direction told the younger woman that she was struggling to understand what she was seeing and hearing as well. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, before Miss Evangelista stood up and began walking slowly away. Exchanging a look, Donna and Evie reluctantly followed her.

"_I suggested we meet here because the playground's the easiest place to see it._" She explained as they walked through the gate towards the equipment children were climbing all over. "_To see the lie._"

"_What lie?_"

"_The children._" Miss Evangelista urged them. "_Look at the children._"

"_Why d'you wear that veil?_" Donna asked, stopping Evie turning to look. "_If I had a face like yours I wouldn't hide it._"

"_You remember my face, then?_" There was a moment or two of silence as the two women struggled to retrieve the image of the pretty young women from their minds. "_The memories are all still there. The Library, the Doctor, me… you've just been programmed not to look._"

"_Sorry, but… you're dead._" Donna told her in a low voice.

More images flashed through Evie's mind; a skeleton in a shredded space suit in a grand chair, River… her mother… removing the communicator, Donna crying silently as they stared at what was left of Miss Evangelista. She gasped.

"_In a way we're all dead here, Donna. We are the dead of the Library._"

Evie laughed sarcastically. "I beg to differ… I've never seen a dead person get married before. Or get pregnant. Or have two kids."

"_Well what about the children?_" Donna asked, picking up Evie's train of thought. "_The children aren't dead. My children aren't dead._"

Reaching out to squeeze her hand, Evie was shocked at Miss Evangelista's next words. "_Your children were never alive._"

"_Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare say that about my children!_"

"_Look at your children!_" The woman ordered. "_Look at all of them… really look. They're not real. Do you see it now? They're all the same. All the children of this world; the same boy and the same girl over and over again._"

Evie realised that it was true and took a step backwards, her hands pressed to her mouth in abject horror at the realisation. Her cousins, Joshua and Ella, how could they not be real. She remembered them being born. Or… did she? Suddenly Evie couldn't remember the event at all. That realisation terrified her.

"_Stop it! Just… stop it! Why are you doing this? Why are you wearing that veil?_" Donna demanded, reaching out and grasping Evie's arm to steady herself, before ripping the material covering Miss Evangelista's face away.

They screamed as her face was revealed.

It was wrong, so very wrong. Evie had to turn away, burying her face in Donna's neck for comfort and to try and block out the image. It wouldn't leave her, however, the once perfect, stunning features of the young woman blurred and warped almost past all recognition. They'd been stretched and moved, blurring into each other in the most horrific way.

"What… what…?" She muttered incoherently, unable to form the sentence on her mind.

Donna led her over to the bench and they sat down, each trying to work out what was going on. Miss Evangelista joined them moments later, her veil back in place – much to both women's relief.

"_What happened to your face?_"

"Transcription errors." The woman said calmly. "_Destroyed my face, did wonders for my intellect. I'm a very poor copy of myself._"

"_Where are we? Why are all the children the same?_"

"_It's the same pattern, over and over… saves an awful lot of space._"

Donna glared at her. "_Space?_"

"_Cyberspace._"

"Cyberspace…" Evie repeated slowly, several links clicking into place in her mind. She turned to Donna. "What was that message… the one Professor Song showed the Doctor?"

"4,022 people saved. No survivors." Donna told her after wracking her brain for a moment. "Why?"

There was a long pause as Evie tried desperately to make the connection. "Cyberspace… space… saved… hang on, saved! Why would you say 4,022 people saved? You wouldn't… you'd say they were safe. Unless… unless they were literally saved!"

"What?"

"The Library… it would have to have a massive computer right? To store the information about all those books?"

Donna nodded slowly. "The Doctor mentioned something about the entire core of it being a hard drive."

"That's it, then!" Evie exclaimed. "Somehow we've been saved to the hard drive."

Miss Evangelista nodded, impressed. "_Your physical self is stored in the library as an energy signature. It can be actualised again whenever you or the Library requires._"

"_The Library?_" Donna took a deep breath and then a look of revulsion crossed her features. "_If my face ends up on one of those statues…_"

"_You remember the statues?_"

Donna looked confused. Slowly everything was clicking back into place in Evie's mind. She remembered things… important things. She remembered who she was. She wasn't Donna's niece; not really. The red-head seemed to be having more trouble.

"_Wait, no… ju… hang on. So… This isn't the real me? This isn't my real body. But I've been dieting!_"

Evie smirked at the genuine annoyance on the woman's face. "So I'm not actually eight and a half months pregnant and the size of a house? Thank god!"

"_What you see around you, this entire world, is nothing more than virtual reality._" Miss Evangelista explained.

"_So why do you look like that?_"

"_I had no choice. You teleported; you're a perfect reproduction. I was just a data-ghost caught in the Wi-Fi and automatically uploaded._"

"_And it made you clever?_"

"_We're only strings of numbers in here._" Miss Evangelista told her with a small shrug. "_I think a decimal point may have shifted in my IQ. But my face has been the bigger advantage. I have the two qualities you require to see absolute truth. I am brilliant… and unloved._"

Donna gazed around her, before voicing the question that had been weighing on Evie's mind. "_If this is all a dream, whose dream is it?_"

"_It's hard to see everything in the data core, even for me. But… there is a word. Just one word. CAL._"

Evie barely had time to wonder why that meant something to her, when there was a scream from the playground and she and Donna were moving as quickly as they could towards Ella, who was lying on the floor crying.

"_Mummy, my knee!_" She screeched, clutching it tightly.

Donna dropped down beside her, gathering the little girl up in her arms, while Evie threw a protective arm around Joshua's shoulders, clamping him tightly to her. Despite what Miss Evangelista had told them, neither woman could believe that the children were imaginary. Putting a hand on her stomach, Evie frowned slightly, not wanting to believe that it was all a lie. It was harder to remember than it was to forget.

"_OH!_" The red-head said soothingly, pulling Ella up and hugging her tightly. "_Oh look at that knee! Oh, look at that silly knee._"

"_She's not real. They're fictions. I'm sorry, but now that you understand that, you won't be able to keep a hold. They are sustained only by your belief._" Miss Evangelista reminded them.

"Don't!" Evie snapped at her, glaring. "Just… don't."

"_You don't know!_" Donna shouted at the veiled woman. "_You don't have children._"

"_Neither do you._"

For a moment Evie thought Donna was going to slap Miss Evangelista. Then she thought that perhaps SHE would slap the woman instead. But Donna shook her head sharply and led her children away, the young woman following quickly behind them.

"_Donna, for your own sake, let them go!_" She shouted after them. "Evie, you have to let go!"


	10. Where's River?

The four of them squashed up on the sofa in Donna's living room. As they were rushing away from the playground, she'd pleaded with Evie not to leave her. The next thing they knew they were here, huddling together and staring at the terrifying red sky outside. Evie and Donna exchanged looks every now and again, wondering what on Earth was happening.

"_Mummy, you're hurting my hand._" Joshua complained as the woman clutched him tightly.

She sobbed. "_You just… you just stay where I can see you, alright? Y- you don't get out of my sight._"

"_Is it bedtime?_" Ella asked quietly.

All of a sudden they were upstairs in the children's bedroom. Evie glanced around in astonishment; leaning against the doorframe and watching Donna tuck them in. A flicker of confusion crossed the red-heads face as Evie watched.

"_OK… that was lovely, wasn't it?_" She said in a falsely bright voice, perching on Ella's bed. "_That was a lovely bedtime. We had warm milk and we watched cartoons and then Mummy read you a lovely bedtime story._"

"_Mummy._" The little girl said. "_Joshua and me… we're not real, are we?_"

"_Of course you're real._" Donna said quickly, glancing at Evie for support. There was genuine terror in her eyes as the younger woman moved to sit on Joshua's bed, tucking him in tightly. "_You're as real as anything. Why d'you say that?_"

"_But, Mummy, sometimes when you're not here it's like we're not here._" The little boy said, looking at the women with big eyes.

"_Even when you close your eyes we just stop._"

"_Well, Mummy promises to never close her eyes again._" Donna told them, tears welling in her eyes. "Right, Evie? We'll never close our eyes, will we?"

"No way." Evie agreed. She and Donna glanced at each other, nervously, before looking back at the children.

But they had vanished. Donna ripped at the bedclothes, as though she thought they were hiding. Evie gasped, staring wide-eyed around the room, looking for any sign of them.

"_Please, no… No, please!_" Donna cried, falling to her knees in desperation and sobbing hysterically. "_No, please! No! No!_"

Evie sank back down onto Joshua's bed, completely numb. Her knees felt as though they were about to give way any second and she could no longer hear Donna's screams. Her mind was telling her that the children weren't real, that they had just been created from a template for Donna; to complete her fictional life inside the world of the data core. But they had been so real, so alive… she had so many memories of Joshua and Ella that she didn't want to believe that Miss Evangelista had been telling the truth.

She had no idea how long they stayed like that, before they heard the front door slamming and raised voices downstairs.

"Donna? Donna!" Lee shouted, raising her from her daze.

"Evie?" Alex joined in.

The two women flew down the stairs and into their husband's arms, clinging to them tightly. Things were changing so quickly that they didn't know what was real and what wasn't. it was all too confusing, too much for them to process.

"_What's happening?_" Lee demanded as a brilliant white light began to glow all around them.

Donna shook her head. "_I don't know, but it's not real. Nothing here is real. The whole world. Everything. None of it is real._"

"Evie? What does she mean?" Alex demanded, gripping her arms tightly. She shook her head wordlessly, the electronic hum that was filling her head getting louder and louder. "Evie!"

"I… It's not… You're not…"

"_Am I real?_" Lee asked Donna, his voice cracking with emotion. She sobbed.

"_Of course you're real. I know you're real. Oh, god. Oh, god, I hope you're real!_"

Evie tried to cling onto Alex, but the bright light and humming sound were engulfing her, dragging them apart. She clawed for him but he was too far away. She shouted his name as the distance between them got more and more pronounced.

"_I'll find you!_" Donna shouted at Lee. "_I promise you, I'll find you!_"

"Alex!"

There was a whooshing sound, the brilliant light seemed to explode all around her and then Evie found herself standing in the TARDIS console room. She looked down at herself, relieved to see that the pregnant bump had vanished. Without warning she found herself being hugged painfully tightly by Donna and squeezed her back, delighted and upset and relieved all at the same time.

"Are we really back?" Donna asked quietly.

Evie nodded. "I think so… let's go and find them."

Together they left the TARDIS making their way through the crowds of people who were hugging joyfully. Neither said anything to the other, but both women were keeping their eyes peeled for a pair of men in the crowd of people celebrating. Every time Evie saw someone who looked the slightest bit like Alex her heart jumped. But it was never him.

"D'you think…" She started, glancing at Donna. Then she shook her head. "Never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing… look! There's the Doctor." She said, distracting the older woman and pointing out the tall, skinny man who was approaching them quickly.

He threw his arms around Donna, hugging her as though he was afraid she'd vanish again. When they finally let go, he smiled at Evie, hugging her as well. Then his face fell and tears sprang to his eyes. The young woman looked at him warily, wondering what had caused the sudden, dramatic change.

Holding out his hand, he took hers and led them both over to a quiet corner, before turning to look at Evie seriously.

"Doctor… what is it? You're worrying me." She said quickly, glancing between him and Donna, who looked equally alarmed.

"It's–" He started, but she didn't give him a chance to finish.

"Where's River?" Evie asked, looking around curiously, confused by her mother's obvious absence. The Doctor looked uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at her awkwardly. "Doctor? Where is she? Where's Professor Song?"

The Time Lord looked even more uncomfortable as the woman's voice got higher in her panic. Donna glanced at him, reading the look in his eyes; the look his daughter was doing her best to ignore. She gave a little gasp and covered her mouth with her hand, before turning to Evie and pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, Evie. Professor Song… she's gone."

"Gone?" The girl pulled herself out of Donna's grip, staring at the Doctor. "Gone where? If she's just left me here I'm going to…"

"She's gone." He took a deep breath. "She sacrificed herself to save everyone. She brought them out of the computer. She saved them all; every single one."

Evie couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Her knees felt as though they were about to give way and she clutched at the table beside her for support. All the colour drained from her face as she thought about what the Doctor had just told her. He hadn't said the word, but Evie knew exactly what he meant.

"No." She murmured, repeating the word more and more loudly. "No… no… NO!"

Shaking her head, Evie backed away. She held up her hands, creating a barrier between herself and the pair of time travellers who were staring at her with concern in their eyes. They didn't know the exact nature of the relationship between the two women, but it was clear that without Professor Song the young woman would be lost. Donna reached out her hand, trying to comfort the younger woman, but Evie stepped back so quickly that she bumped into a man walking behind her.

"Isn't it amazing?" He asked excitedly, not noticing her expression and hugging her tightly as she gazed blankly at him. "We're back! We're actually back!"

Taking advantage of the girl's distracted state; Donna pulled her into her arms again and hugged her tightly, a maternal instinct kicking in. Evie hung on, feeling completely numb.

"Doctor… we can't just leave her here."

He shook his head. "No… we'll have to take her with us. I need to keep an eye on her anyway. I… I promised Professor Song. She's got no one else."

"So what do we do?" Donna asked him, stroking Evie's hair gently, rocking her comfortingly as she clung on to the other woman.

"We wait until everyone else has gone and then we'll leave, seal the library and make sure no one ever comes here again."

Donna nodded.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Is this the end? No, it's not! There is - I'm not telling you how much - more to come and you'll just have to wait and see what happens!**_

**_Thank you so SO much for all your comments, favouritings and alertings! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!_**

**_Becki x_**


	11. One Last Stop

Evie hadn't spoken for at least an hour. She was clinging onto Donna as though the red-head was the only stable thing in the universe. Donna didn't mind, feeling oddly protective of the girl, but it did make searching the crowds of people for Lee extremely difficult. Every time she tried to prise Evie's fingers off her and move the brunette into the Doctor's arms, Evie gave a terrified whimper and clung on even more tightly. In the end, Donna gave up and leant against the wall behind her, stroking Evie's hair and back calmingly.

"Doctor… in that other world or whatever it was–" She started slowly.

"An alternate reality made up in the mind of a little girl and kept safe in a computer mainframe." He corrected her quickly.

Donna rolled her eyes slightly. "Yeah, that. Well in that alternate reality made up in the mind of a little girl and kept safe in a computer mainframe, I honestly believed that Evie was my niece. I… I don't know how to explain it. She didn't feel like a relative stranger that I barely knew… she felt like someone I would have done anything for… like one of the most important people in my world." Glancing up at him, Donna hesitated. "Why did I feel like that?"

"Weeelll…" The Doctor shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to think how to answer. "It could be a couple of things. Maybe she is actually someone important to you in the future… that can happen sometimes. You can catch a glimpse of someone you'll know very well and get the odd feeling that you already know them. Or it could be that she dragged out some maternal instinct that was hidden away very deep inside you."

"Oi!" Donna muttered, momentarily letting her hand leave Evie's hair to smack his chest with the back of her hand.

"But I think the two most likely theories are that because you were the only reminders of the outside world – the only things that were constant – you latched onto each other and kept that link alive as a way of trying to retain your memories or maybe that the computer created this idea that you were related and made you believe it." He continued, ignoring her interruption.

"Mmm…" Donna mumbled, glancing down at the girl for a moment, before looking back at the Doctor with eyes that were sparkling with unshed tears. "So why do I still feel it?"

He shrugged, reaching for her hand on Evie's back and squeezing it tightly. "I don't know."

They looked at each other for a moment, before Donna dropped her graze back to Evie and sighed, kissing the top of the girl's head and returning her attention to scanning the room for any sign of Lee or Alex.

"Doctor… I need to go and look for them. Can you look after Evie?"

He nodded and together they freed Donna from the brunette's grasp, trying to ignore the anguished expression on her face as she was separated from the older woman. Donna quickly walked away as the Doctor pulled Evie into his arms, stroking her hair and holding her tightly as she finally started to cry, warm tears soaking his shirt.

He didn't say anything as she sobbed, holding her up and continuing to run his hands through her hair comfortingly. After a while she sniffled and pulled away slightly, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms and took a couple of deep breaths.

"I'm sorry…"

"Why are you sorry?" The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows.

Evie shrugged and sniffed. "For crying."

"Why should you be sorry for that?"

"There's no point in crying, is there? It doesn't solve anything. It won't bring River back."

She rubbed her eyes again, taking a few more deep breaths and giving herself a silent talking to. Resolutely looking anywhere but at the Doctor, Evie's eyes wandered through the crowd looking for Alex. She couldn't believe that he hadn't been real; or she didn't want to believe it. Then again, he'd seemed so perfect that she hardly dared to let herself believe that he could be real. Without realising it, she found that her hand was resting on her flat stomach, her thumb gently brushing backwards and forwards over it.

Noticing that the Doctor was frowning at her hand, looking a little concerned, she removed it hastily, rubbing her eyes for the third time before pushing her hands into the pockets of her spacesuit. If the Doctor had been about to speak, he was prevented from doing so by the return of Donna through the excited crowds.

"_Any luck?_" He asked as she reached them, holding out her hand to Evie who took it quickly.

She shook her head slowly. "_There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the Library that day. I suppose he could have had a different name out here, but… let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?_"

"_Maybe not._"

"Alex?" Evie asked quietly, glancing up at Donna as the red-head wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Instead of answering, Donna just shook her head and rested her forehead against Evie's for a moment.

"_I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me and hardly able to speak a word. What does that say about me?_"

"_Everything._" The Doctor muttered quickly. As Donna turned to look at him he backtracked quickly. "_Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say nothing. I was aiming for nothing… accidentally said everything…_"

Either accepting his flimsy excuse or choosing to let it go for once, Donna sighed and looked back at Evie who was staring off into space as if she wasn't aware of anything that was around her. Then Donna glanced back at the Doctor.

"_What about you? You alright?_"

"_I'm always alright._" He told her quickly and completely unconvincingly.

"_Is 'alright' special Time Lord code for 'really not alright at all'?_" Donna asked.

"_Why?_"

"'_Cos I'm alright, too…_"

There was a moment of silence while they looked at each other, each seeing the way they were feeling reflected back at them. Then the Doctor sighed and pushed himself away from the wall they were leaning on. He shifted slightly, pulling them with him, his hand closing around Donna's. She clamped her arm around Evie, propelling the younger woman along firmly.

"_Come on._" The Doctor commanded.

They walked out of the hall, rounding a corner and entering a corridor that was completely empty. It was a relief to be away from the crowds of happy, celebrating people. Evie felt as though she could breathe again; that there was enough air available to fill her lungs.

"Where are we going, Doctor?" Donna asked as they walked quickly away from the main lobby where the TARDIS was parked. "Shouldn't we get out of here?"

"One last stop." The Doctor told her quietly, glancing at Evie.

They descended a flight of steps and stopped in the break before the next couple. Two information stations stood on either side of a small balcony which gave a view over the whole planet. They could see for miles, but none of them particularly cared.

The Doctor let go of Donna's hand and turned to face the two women, pulling a small, TARDIS blue book out of the inside pocket of his coat. Evie recognised it at once and felt hot, fresh tears springing to her eyes. They clouded her vision, spilling over and falling down her cheeks.

They walked down the last few steps together, Donna clinging tightly to the young woman, before the Doctor balanced River's Diary on the railing along the edge of the balcony.

"_Your friend… Professor Song… She knew you in the future, but she didn't know me. What happens to me?_" Donna asked quietly, as though she almost didn't want to know the answer. "_Because when she heard my name… the way she looked at me…_"

The Doctor grasped her shoulders tightly. "_Donna, this is her Diary. My future… I could look you up. What d'you think? Shall we peek at the end?_"

Evie felt panic rise up inside her and made a grab for the Diary. "You can't!"

The Doctor pushed it out of her reach and looked at Donna. The red-head looked as though she was thinking for a while, before she glanced at Evie. Taking in her pale face and red eyes the older woman sighed. She looked back at the Doctor and shook her head.

"_Spoilers, right?_"

"_Right._" He agreed in a low voice with a smirk.

Then he pulled River's screwdriver out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment, turning it over in his hands. Carefully he balanced it on top of the Diary. They stood for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts.

"_Come on._" The Doctor commanded after a while. Evie allowed Donna to pull her away, glancing over her shoulder at the book and the screwdriver. "_The next chapter's this way._"

They had just reached the top of the stairs when, without warning, the Doctor gave an odd little cry and whirled around. He sprinted back down the steps and skidded to a halt on the balcony. Evie and Donna stared at each other, before the brunette grabbed the older woman's hand and pulled her back towards the Time Lord.

"_Why?_" He demanded, more to himself than anyone else. "_Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? Thing is, future me had years to think about it; all those years to think of a way to save her. What he did was give her a screwdriver! Why would I do that?_" He removed a tiny panel and revealed a bar of green lights, remarkably similar to the ones on the spacesuit communicators. "_Oh, oh… OH! Look at that! I'm very good!_"

"_What've you done?_" Donna demanded, totally confused.

The Doctor held up the screwdriver to show them properly. "_Saved her!_"


	12. I Keep Changing Things

Then the Doctor was off, sprinting back up the stairs and disappearing from sight. Evie tried to follow him but Donna held on tightly, pulling her into a hug and holding on as though her life depended on it. For a while Evie struggled, then she realised that Donna wasn't going to let her go and gave up.

"There… shhh…" She soothed. "The Doctor's got her. I'm not entirely sure what he's going to do, but whatever it is it's the best he could possibly do."

"Donna…"

"Come on, sweetheart; let's get back to the TARDIS – that's the Doctor's… ship…" She explained. Evie stared at her as though she was stupid, before she remembered that as far as Donna was concerned the brunette had never been inside the TARDIS. "He promised Professor Song that we'd look after you."

"I don't need looking after." Evie snapped.

"Of course you do. Everyone needs looking after."

"Not me."

Sensing that the younger woman was determined that she didn't need to be looked after, Donna sighed and changed tack. "At least come and wait for the Doctor."

Evie hesitated and then nodded. She allowed Donna to guide her back through the maze of corridors to the, now mercifully empty, lobby. As the woman unlocked and opened the doors and ushered her inside, Evie didn't even react, much to Donna's astonishment. After watching her for a long time and trying to work out why there was no emotion at all on her face, the woman sighed and slid down to sit beside the brunette.

"It'll be alright, you know." She assured her, squeezing her hand. "You can stay here with us, the Doctor and me. There's plenty of room." Evie shook her head and, for some reason thinking it was because the girl didn't want to intrude, Donna smiled. "Honestly, sweetheart, we want you to stay."

"I can't." Evie almost whispered.

"Why not?"

The brunette thought for a moment trying to come up with a reason that wouldn't give anything away. The truth was that if she stayed with Donna and the Doctor then the whole of her history would be rewritten. Things that were supposed to take place wouldn't be able to and new things would take their place. There was no telling what might happen.

Taking the girl's hesitation as her not being able to think of a reason, Donna smiled. "See! You have to stay. The Doctor promised Professor Song we'd look after you. Stay for her sake."

"Hello, little Evie." A very familiar voice said in her head. Closing her eyes, the brunette smiled as the TARDIS filled her mind. "You shouldn't be here."

"I know that!" Evie agreed, thinking rather than speaking the words. She was glad that she'd mastered telepathic conversations with the time machine when her parents were annoying her. "I don't know what to do. Mum's dead."

"Is she?"

"Yes! Don't do this to me, old girl." She squeezed her eyes closed, feeling a dull ache in her hearts. "Just tell me… what do I do?"

"Evie? Are you alright?" Donna asked, concerned. The brunette nodded, concentrating on her telepathic link with the TARDIS.

"Just tell me what to do!"

"Little Evie, how do you think the Doctor knew where to pick you up in the time loop?" The TARDIS asked mischievously.

Evie frowned. "You told him."

"No, I didn't… he had a little piece of paper. A little piece of paper covered in green stars and pink ink."

Evie smiled, remembering the scrap of paper covered in green stars and her own handwriting in pink ink that the Doctor had shown her many years ago in Sarah Jane Smith's attic. She felt her mind being nudged in encouragement and opened her eyes quickly making Donna, who was about an inch from the girl's face staring at her in concern, jump. "Donna, have you got paper and a pen?"

Nodding she went to fetch the requested items, returning a moment later and handing them over without saying a word. Evie laughed as Donna handed her the paper, covered in small green stars, before she quickly scribbled a note to the Doctor in pink ink containing the coordinates of the village in Shropshire where he'd first met her. On her timeline anyway. Then, thinking quickly she added the postscript; 'You have to pretend you don't know who I am. Otherwise things will get complicated'.

"I need you to give this to the Doctor… when I'm gone." She told Donna firmly. When the red-head opened her mouth to argue, Evie shook her head. "I am going, Donna, I have to. But I'll see you again."

"When?"

Evie thought. Then she smiled. "I keep changing things… timelines… You shouldn't have met me yet… the next time should be the first… actually no, you shouldn't have met me then, either. But… oh!" She stopped, staring at Donna and remembering when she'd arrived in the Nobles' house with absolutely no idea who the woman in front of her was until it was too late. And then she'd brought Donna's memories back and the woman had seemed to know her. Even before she got her memories back Donna had actually said she knew who Evie was, but didn't know how. "Of course…"

"Of course? What are you going on about?"

"You'll find out soon enough, Donna Noble." Evie told her with an enigmatic smirk.

Donna was about to open her mouth and grumpily say something about Evie being just like Professor River Song when the doors of the TARDIS swung open and both women turned to see the Doctor standing outside in the lobby staring at his hands in astonishment. Then he smiled broadly and walked slowly towards them. None of them spoke as he came to a halt at Evie's side, sandwiching her between him and Donna. They all turned to look at the doors and the Doctor raised his hand. He clicked his fingers and the doors closed with a creak.

He beamed. "She said I could do it… I didn't believe her."

"Doctor!" Donna cut in, not seeing the significance of this action. "Evie said she can't stay, that she has to leave. Then she started zoning out and making absolutely no sense at all."

The Doctor turned to stare at Evie, his eyes almost boring into hers. She looked back calmly, not showing any emotions. A soft humming told the brunette that the TARDIS was having a word with her Time Lord or, as she liked to refer to him, her thief. Evie smiled weakly as she thought this, remembering when she'd forced her father to explain the nickname.

"Alright." He said quietly after a few minutes. Donna gave a squeak of indignation and looked questioningly at him, but neither the Doctor nor Evie elaborated.

"Thank you." Evie said gently, genuine gratitude radiating off her in waves. He smiled.

"Remember, little Evie, whatever finds itself in a Library system can always be checked out as long you have the right method of claiming it." The TARDIS told her, her soft singsong voice echoing around the young woman's head.

Smiling, but still slightly confused, Evie looked at Donna. "Remember, when I'm gone."

"Alright." The woman agreed reluctantly.

"And Donna… I will see you, very soon. And I'll have a surprise for you." She told her, thinking of Jenny.

The Doctor clicked the doors open for her and Evie strode out of the TARDIS and across the lobby, refusing to give in and look back. She only stopped walking and glanced over her shoulder as she reached the door to the corridor and heard the familiar wheezing sound of the time machine dematerializing.

Closing her eyes, Evie dropped into a chair beside the door and buried her face in her hands, wondering what the TARDIS had meant; 'whatever finds itself in a Library system can always be checked out as long you have the right method of claiming it'. What was she supposed to do? The TARDIS was obviously talking about her Mother. But what did it mean?

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hello gorgeous people!**_

_**This is the third-from-last chapter - there are TWO left!**_

_**I've been getting quite a lot of message from people who are confused about links between people and timelines and things - completely understandably because this is one totally confusing story... even for me and I'm writing it! So, when I was supposed to be doing something probably more important but far less interesting, I created this: http:/ eviesong. webs. com/ Take a look if you want and I hope it helps to clear up any confusions! :)**_

_**Really hope you enjoy this!**_

_**Becki x**_


	13. Not Enough to Bring Them Back

Pulling herself up out of the chair, Evie wandered through the corridors, not sure where she was going until she reached her destination. She laid her hand on her Mother's Diary, feeling the raised panels with her fingertips. Picking it up, she opened it to a random page.

"The Doctor took Evie and I to Grensten Six. It was a disaster." She read aloud. Against her will, Evie found herself smirking at the memory the words conjured it. It really had been a disaster. Flicking on a few more pages, she smiled. "New Year's Eve… the Doctor really outdid himself this year; fireworks over the glass cliffs of Transelon Petrixa."

Feeling a sudden rush of determination, Evie closed the diary and tucked it inside her space suit. She jogged up the steps and headed in search of the centre of the planet. The Doctor had mentioned something about that being where the computer controlling everything was, so it was there that she needed to be.

It took her a while to locate it, not having the greatest sense of direction, but finally she found herself in a room with complicated looking technology that was beeping and pulsing gently.

"What do I do?" She muttered angrily, pacing backwards and forwards, willing herself to think. "Whatever finds itself in a Library system can always be checked out as long you have the right method of claiming it."

Almost as though responding to her words, one of the creepy information nodes turned its head slowly to face her. Evie dreaded what she was about to see, but to her relief she wasn't greeted by her Mother's face. Instead the worried face of a little girl looked at her, blinking sadly.

"Do you know what I'm supposed to do?" Evie asked, not really expecting an answer.

"It needs more energy." The node said. The brunette almost screamed. "I am CAL… Charlotte Abigail Lux."

Evie hesitated. "Err… nice to meet you, Charlotte. But… more energy?"

"Yes… it needs more energy. There is not enough to bring them back." The node explained.

Suddenly it made sense. Evie's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as she made the connections in her mind. Then she jumped into action, whirling around the room gathering up bits of equipment and trying to fix them together. She still wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, whether it would even work or what would happen. All Evie knew was that she had to try.

"Sorry, CAL!" Evie muttered, fiddling with the wiring around the machine that contained the little girl's face. "Charlotte… I can't believe I'm talking to a face in a lump of stone…"

The statue smiled, almost as though she was encouraging Evie and the woman found herself grinning back, adrenaline pulsing through her body. She hoped that she would be in time to save her mother and the others from the computer world. The young woman had lived there and she knew that it would drive her mother insane; it was far too quiet and far too perfect.

"Come on, come on!" She complained, getting annoyed with herself for taking so long. "Oh! You stupid woman! Hurry up!"

Minutes later there was a spark and an electronic sounding crackle, causing the girl to grin broadly and laugh, almost manically. She leapt across the room, dragging a long, thick power cable towards the computer mainframe, plugging it into the side and the other end into the back of the statue containing CAL's face.

"Sorry about this, Charlotte. I really, really hope this works… for both our sakes." She mumbled, smiling weakly. Then she broadened the smile and moved back to the mainframe, flicking a couple of buttons and turning dials. "Right… deep breath…"

Putting her hands on either side of the statue's head, Evie closed her eyes concentrating and gathering all her strength. When she opened her eyes, a golden mist seemed to pour out, hanging in the air for a couple of moments before plunging into the statue and traveling along the power cable into the computer mainframe.

Evie gave a loud scream of agony as the energy left her, entering the machinery. It was all she could do to keep her grip on the statue. If she'd let go, even for a second, the connection would have been broken and it would all have been in vain. She held on, tears streaming down her face with the effort of it.

Slowly, a figure began to materialise in the room. It grew more and more solid, with more clouds of the golden mist surrounding it as the figure became real. The moment the figure gasped for air, fully solidifying, Evie jolted and felt a vast amount of energy leaving her.

"Wh– Evie?" Miss Evangelista asked, looking down at herself, grasping her spacesuit to check that she was real. Then she saw the expression of intense agony on her friend's face. "What are you doing?"

"Bringing you back… all of you…" Evie ground out between her teeth, fighting to keep contact with the statue. "No! Stay back!"

Miss Evangelista had been moving quickly towards her, apparently with the idea of helping her in some way. She stopped abruptly, her large eyes even bigger in shock.

Wordlessly she stood and watched as a second figure began to materialise. The same process happened again and, moments later Proper Dave stood in the room, the same shocked expression on his face as had been on Miss Evangelista's. As before, the moment Dave fully materialised in the room, Evie felt another surge of energy leave her and she stumbled. Only her fingertips kept contact with the statue.

"Are you alright?" Miss Evangelista demanded, gripping Dave's arm to prevent herself clutching at the young woman.

"Fine. I'm fine."

Other Dave and Anita soon followed Proper Dave and Miss Evangelista. As pleased as she was to see them, Evie had no interest in them. She was barely conscious now as the energy poured from her into the machine. Fighting to keep going, her eyes flickered and rolled backwards in her head.

"There… look!" Dave murmured, pointing to the shimmering figure blinking into view in front of them. "The Professor."

This seemed to give Evie the extra strength she needed to hold on for a few more minutes until River materialised fully in the room. The moment the transfer was complete and Evie felt the massive energy surge leaving her, she dropped to the floor like a stone, crumpling in a heap.


	14. Six

An explosion of pain engulfed Evie as blackness filled her mind. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream, she was trapped. A searing heat crept through her entire body, starting at her feet and sweeping quickly up her legs, through her body and into her head. Another white-hot explosion attacked her.

From the darkness, she could hear a sound, growing louder and louder. It was still just a noise, not making any sense. Gradually, very slowly, the darkness seemed to lift and the sound became clearer. Now Evie could recognise it as a voice.

"Evie… sweetie… can you hear me?" The girl blinked rapidly, feeling someone stroking her hair gently. "Oh, thank god… Evie? Evie!"

"S'matter?" She rasped her throat feeling as though she'd tried to swallow sandpaper. It was raw and excruciating painful and she coughed weakly, wincing at the discomfort. She struggled to open her eyes fully; the light was agony after the darkness that had been almost suffocating her. When she managed to squint in the direction of her mother's voice, she saw River leaning over her with red-rimmed eyes. Obviously she'd been crying. "You been crying?"

River slapped her lightly on the arm, before kissing her forehead and hugging her tightly. "Of course I've been crying! You used up five of your regenerations getting us back and then another one to save yourself!"

"Oh… that's what was happening! Never done that before…" Evie muttered, feeling stronger by the second. She pulled herself up, using River to steady herself. When she was in a seated position, Evie stopped to catch her breath and hugged her mother tightly; clinging to her and burying her face in River's soft hair.

"You stupid… reckless… just like your father!" River barely managed to choke out between sobs as she almost crushed her daughter to her.

Evie rolled her eyes. "I thought you'd have been grateful that I brought you back from computer world! But no, you had to throw insults at me instead."

The older woman mumbled something completely incoherent and her daughter rolled her eyes again, wriggling to get comfortable in her mother's grip. Then she glanced around and realised that she was sitting on the sofa in the living room of her mother's house in Ledworth.

"Hang on!" Evie shouted suddenly, louder than she'd intended and making River jump. "I've used up six of my regenerations? How many do I have left?"

"Six… according to your father."

After thinking about that information for a minute or two, Evie shrugged. "Fair enough… six is quite a lot. Dad's on his eleventh and he's 1004… well… he was when I saw him the day before yesterday." She reasoned with a shrug, screwing up her face slightly. Then her eyes widened as she realised something else and she turned to stare at her mother. "Hang on… you said I regenerated?"

River nodded, smirking slightly as she read her daughter's mind like a book. Evie sprinted into the hall, skidding to a halt in front of the mirror and almost crashing to the ground as the rug beneath her feet slid on the polished wooden floor. She grabbed at the table underneath the mirror to regain her balance, before looking at her reflection. A scream escaped from her mouth as she took in her appearance.

"OH MY GOD!" She shrieked, clutching at her hair in horror. "This cannot be happening! I'M BLONDE!"

Snorting with laughter, finally back to her usual self, the young woman's mother appeared in the living room doorway. She arched an eyebrow. "What's wrong with being blonde?"

"Well… nothing…" She muttered, calming down a little. She was still flustered as she tugged at strands of her new blonde, shoulder-length poker-straight hair in consternation. Then she prodded at her face, which was thinner than it had been. Her greeny-blue eyes were now a piercing bright blue and her skin was much paler. She looked older, perhaps in her late twenties, which she couldn't decide whether she liked or not. At least, she supposed, she didn't look like a teenager anymore. "I look like Jen! Like her older sister!"

"You do…" River agreed, standing behind her and scrutinising her daughter's reflection carefully in the mirror. She turned Evie round so that she was facing her. Where the younger woman had been at least a head shorter than her mother, she was now the same height and looked her directly in the eyes, almost challengingly. Lifting a hand, River stroked the younger woman's hair gently, before resting a hand on her cheek. "Thank you."

"What for?" Evie asked, squirming distractedly as she tried to catch another glimpse of her hair in the mirror. "I think I might have to dye it… it's just… odd. Oh… I wish I was ginger… that would really annoy Dad! Maybe I should dye it ginger and pretend it's natural? What do you think?" She paused in her babbling for a split second, screwing up her face and twisting away from River to look properly at her reflection. Then she grinned. "Yeah! I'm gonna do that!"

"Listen to me for one minute!" River laughed, grasping her chin and turning her daughter to face her. "Thank you for risking everything to save me. You really had no idea what you were doing or what would happen, did you?" Evie shook her head, a small smile twisting her lips. "You're the same as him, aren't you, that impossible man? You just can't leave things alone."

Evie tilted her head slightly, smirking. Her brand new eyes twinkled mischievously. "Nope… and aren't you glad?"

"Exceptionally."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So that's it! River and Evie both survived The Library! I couldn't leave River in that Computer World… she'd have gone insane! Not to mention what might have happened to Evie… I imagine her running riot throughout the Universe and probably taking on more than she could handle!**_

_**So, I said before that this was going to be the last long Evie story.**_

_**But then I got a couple of messages and some lovely reviews (specifically from nicoleniks94, FrankTheBartender and kestra17 who asked about a continuation to the story – although massive thanks also **__**HAVE**__** to go to Misery Loves Sarah, 1945, Shifuni and NaviRebel16 for their reviews and messages which have meant so much to me) and decided that perhaps I could be persuaded to write a bit more.**_

_**I know, I know… I keep saying this is it and then changing my mind! But seriously, the next one – when I have a chance to write it! – will DEFINITELY be the LAST long fic and it's going to be a prequel. The story of how Evie ended up in the Time Loop was sort of covered at the end of '**__Holding On__**', but after a chat with Nicky I had an idea of how I could explain it more completely.**_

_**Anyway, you'll have to watch this space!**_

_**Thank you so much for reading, favouriting, subscribing and commenting! It really does mean so much to me to know what you think! :)**_

_**Becki xxx**_


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